Railroad-tie.



A. S. TOPPING.

RAILROAD TH].

uruoumn FILED JULY 1a, 1908.

Patented Jan. 12,1909.

ALFRED S. TOPIING, or HART, MICHIGAN.

RAILROADTIE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 12, 1909.

Appllcationfiledluly 13, 1908. Serial No. 443,194.

T all ii /m it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED S. 'lorrmo, :1

Hart, in the county of Oceana and State of lilichigan, have invented certain nev and useful ln'iprovcmcnts in llailroad-llics, and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art' to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements.

in metallic railroad ties and fastening devices for Securing railroad rails to said ties.

The object of the invention is to provide simple and eflicient means for securing a railroad rail to a metallic tie, said tie and fasteners being so constructed as to reliably fasten a rail to the tie' without danger of its working loose.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, combination and arra n ement of parts, as will be more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l represents a top plan view part1 in hOltzontal section of a tie having a rail fastened thereto, and constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a view partly in side elevation and artly in section taken on the line l2-2 of igt. 1. Fig. 3 is a perspective view taken from one side of a metallic tie constructed in accordance with this invention. Fi 4 is a transverse section taken on the hue 4-4 of Fig. 1.

In the embodiment illustrated a tie l is shown, made of steel, iron or other suitable metal and which may be wrought, cast or otherwise constructed. This tie is preferabl hollow and is open on its lower side and at its ends, and the side walls 2 thereof are provided at. their lower edges with outwardly extending base flanges 3, which form broadened lower surfaces to bear on the ground and which are provided with apertures or notches 3', to receive spikes (not shown), for securing the ties to culverts, bridges and the like.

The side walls 2 of the tie are provided at their ends with outwardly extendingllanges 4, the outer sides of which are at a slightdistance from the ends of the base flanges: The ends of the tie may be closed by means of plates 5, which are preferably rectangular in form and of an appropriate size to citizen of theUnitcd States, resldmg at.-

b ar on the base flanges and against the vertical (min m-db, extending flanges 4; of the t c, and the ends of said plaLcs are bent to provide flanges ti, 1o bear against. the inner sides oi said llanges =1; and with grooves 7, to receive said flanges *1, so that said end pluses 5, may be placed on the ends of the tie by ncrcly placing them downwardly thereon to cause them to engage the flanges 4 at the ends ol' the tie. It will be understood that said plates may be detached from said curls of the tie by raising them to cause them to cling the flanges 4. When placin a tie one at the plates 5 must be remove and the tie filled with earth or' sand and tamped so as to ballast the tie and firmly hold the same in place on the road' bed, and the end plate is then secured in place.

To remove the tie, one of the end plates is first removed and the tie can then be readily moved endwise without lifting the same and cause it to readily disengage from the ridge of earth formed by the tamping of the earth in the tie, as will be understood. In the upper face of the tie are longitudinally spaced recesses as 11, which extend transversely across the entire width of the lie, and in which are disposed wooden blocks or plates 1:2, on which the rails as b tear, said blocks or plates forming cushions between the rails and the tie, and are de- "gncd to relieve the tics from the concussion caused by the passing of trains, and they also enable the ties to yield somewhat as the trains pass over them.

(lounnnnicating with the transverse reccsses 11 at opposite sides of the face of the tie are two depre sions or recesses as 11, formed over and adjacent to the side member or walls of the tie for apurpose to be ltibt ribcd.

Rail scouring devices 13 are provided for use in connection with this improved tie and each of which has a part 14 constructed to bear on one side of the base of the rail b, and a vertical flange 15 to enter one of said recesses 11 and bear against the shoulder ltiformed by the end of said recess. Said rail securing devices are preferably made of iron or steel and are provided with openings for the reception of bolts as 11, which are employed to secure said devices on the tie.

Each of said bolts 17 has a squared or angular portion near its head which engages a l similarly shaped opening in the depressed portion of the tie formingone of the recesscs as ll to prevent said bolt from turning, and the nuts 20 of said bolts are screwed l on the upper end thereof above said devices 13. These bolts 17 are preferably split longi- E tudinally at their screw threaded ends, and i after the nuts have been i as 21, having heads as 22, are inserted in the split ends of thebolts to serve as nut locks, and when it is desired to remove the nut the Wedge is first tapped gently on either side a few times and then the wedge may be removed with a pair of pincers.

For use on curves one of the fastening members 13 is provided with a vertical extension 23, which is adapted to lit under the thread of the rail 6 and perform the double function of a rail brace and fastener therefor. f

To enable the bolt 17 to be placed in p0sition to extend through the recessed portion of the upper side of the tie the opening 18 i through which the squared or angular por-.: tions of the bolt extend are elongated to! form oblique slots, which extend toward the l rail and are provided at their outer ends with l openings 19 of sutlicient size to clear the heads of the bolts, and which form enlargements on the outer portions of said slots. These slots 18 facilitate the placin of the rail securin devices on the tie an in engagement with the rails, and also facilitate the removal of such devices when it is de- I sired to remove or take up therails. The inner ends of the slots 18 terminate a sutfi- I cient distance from the side walls 2 of the tie to permit the heads tolie within the walls. I

By arranging the flanges 15 of the rail securing devices 13 in the ends of the re-f cesses 11 and against the shoulders 16 permitting the ends of said recesses to pass the bolts 17 therethrough the devices are effectually prevented from moving outwardly or; upwardly, and hence serve to securely fasten the rails on the ties. and prevent said rails i from spreading. f

In the use of these devices when the ties have been placed in position the rails b are arranged on the wooden blocks 12 disposed 1 in the depressions 11 and the bolts 17 are F inserted in the slots 18 by passing their heads through the enlarged opening 19 of-l said slots and then movin the bolt through the slots 18 until they reac the desired posi- I tion in the recesses 11". The bolt 17 is then i passed through the aperture in the member 14 of the fastener 13 and the lug 15 of the fastener is inserted in the recesses 11 a -ainst l the shoulder 16, formed at the end of said lcccss. The lcct'sscs It in which said las trners .are mounted being arranged over and l adjacent to the side walls 2 of the tie, said walls serve to reinforce and brace the fasteners, and danger of b nding of the tie g screwed on wedges oblique ang e tothe by the vibrations produced by passing trains 1 than if they were arranged nearer the center of the tie. By arranging the recesses 11 at: the outer edges of the upper face of the tie one shoulder 24 only is provided, the recesses being open at their outer walls.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction and operation of the invention will be readily understood without requiring a more extended explanation.

Various changes in the form, proportion and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the princifpleor sacrificing anfiv of the advanta es 0 this invention as de ned in the appencfiad claims.

I claim as my invention 1.,A metallic railroad tie havin recesses arranged at oints on opposite si es of the rail at the side edges of the tie, in combination with rail fastening devices havin flanges to bearon the base of the rail an flanges to enter said recesses in the tie, bolts dctachably securing said devices to said tic,

said tie bein provided with slots lyin at an lane of the rails for the rece tion of said olts, said slots being enlarge at their outer ends to admit the heads of said-bolts, and the smaller end extending toward the rail and terminating in said recesses.

2. A metallic railroad tie having longis tudinally spaced depressions extending transversely across the width thereof to reccive the rails and recesses in the upper face of the tie adjacent said depressions at the side edges of said tie and extending over the side members of said tie, in combination with rail fastening devices adapted to bear on the base of the rail and having flanges to enter said recesses in the tie, and means for securing said fasteners in operative position.

3. A hollow metallic railroad tie havin laterally extending base flanges provided with spaced recesses, said tie having rail receiving depressions extending transversely across its upper face, with recesses on op 0- site sides thcreofacljaccnt thereto at the Side edges of said tie, in combination with rail fastening devices constructed to engage the base of the rail and to enter said recesses, and means for securing said fastening devices in operative position.

4. A metallic railroad tie having a depression extending transversely. across the width thereof to receive a rail, said tie having rcccsscs in its upper face adjacent said depression at the side edges of said tie and extending over the side members thereof, in combination with rail fastening devices adapted to bear on the base of the rail and having flanges to enter said recesses in the tie, one of said fastening devices being provided with an upright brace extension for engagement with the tread of the rail,,and means my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ALFRED S. TOPPING.

Witnesses:

BURT WIOKHAM, CHARLES E. SULLIVAN.

5 for securing said fasteners in operative positlon.

In testlmuny whereof I have hereunto set 

